Nutshell

A Novel

Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home--a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse--but John's not here. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb.

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I was disappointed by this book. It seemed like such an intriguing perspective to have the unborn fetus telling the story, but when actually played out, it feels like a desperate attempt to be different. I could suspend disbelief that this baby knows as much as he does if the meat and potatoes of the story itself was compelling enough, but I found it too wanting.

What could be better than a sardonic British narrator who happens to be a fetus observing his mother's infidelities and murderous plots against his father? Ian McEwan knocks it out of the park again. I believe the audio version trumps the book just because of that voice!